2012 football season to be delayed by Olympics 09/07/2010 |
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London Olympics organisers have revealed that the start of 2012/13 English football season will be delayed so it does not clash with the 2012 Games.
The Olympics will run from July 27 until August 12, while the Premier League season traditionally opens with the Community Shield in early August.
Organising committee chief executive Paul Deighton said he had held talks with the Football Association and Premier League to discuss timetables.
"We have been in discussions with all the sports bodies responsible for sports schedules in 2012 and we are on track to meet our obligation," Deighton told reporters at the end of a four-day visit by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to London.
Pushed on whether the Premier League and FA would agree to a slight delay, Deighton replied: "Yes.”
Denis Oswald, the head of the IOC's co-ordination commission, insisted he was happy with London's progress.
"Two years before the Games you are at the turning point from conception and construction to the operational phase," he said.
"We are entering a crucial period in the coming months but we are convinced that London will have a very successful Games."
IOC president Jacques Rogge toured the 2012 Olympic Stadium earlier this week and met Britain's new Prime Minister David Cameron.
“We held very constructive talks with Prime Minister Cameron and Mayor [Boris] Johnson about the upcoming Games, and we are assured that the Government at all levels remains completely behind the project,” added Oswald.
“We also realise that we are working in a difficult economic environment at the moment, but we are confident that [organising committee] LOCOG’s early entry into the market and its robust private sector financing will mean that the delivery of top-class Games will not be affected.”
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